Very interesting to see those close-up 'interior' shots of the fabric of the chamber walls, whilst being restored. I think I've said before, this is a lovely project to keep an eye on... Great efforts by all involved. Thanks for the update/revisit as ever Steve.!
This is one of the good ones as they all know me, I can’t get good shots if I go down on a work party. I’m going to try to film the carpenters workshop going in, I’m unsure when it is yet though
Interesting to see the area / landscape before it is worked on by the Canal Trust. Amazing that some of the infrastructure is still working as designed and waiting for the canal to be back in water.
I’ll try and get old pictures when I do my next update, there’s some on the WBCT groups on Facebook. There wasn’t much left and most of what was left was buried. It’s picked up in speed over recent years as funding has increased and with more members and volunteers etc
Lovely, scenic stretch of W & B, undergoing some very impressive restoration work after years of decay and neglect. That spill weir really is a beautiful piece of canal engineering. Thanks for a very interesting update.
Another interesting video Steve, please dont rush them and linger over the maps and diagrams! The details are interesting but take time to examine so give us time to hit pause.
With the government withdrawing some £300m of funding over the next 13 years, the Canal and River Trust (CRT) needs Friends (members) to sustain our canal network. Local Canal Charities and the National CRT need support more now than at any other time in the last 60 years of canal restoration. Investing in canals is investing in the nations economy, ecology and wellbeing. Stunning work by the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust. Best of luck, and it will be a major achievement if this canal can join the K&A one day, once again.
The government needs to change, we need to push our local MPs to make this part of the agenda going into an election. I don’t think the CRT have the will to do so, far too many pay checks and wasted money whilst the hard working volunteers get left with nothing on the ground to maintain the canals they love so much.
@CourtAboveTheCut I'm a Friend of the CRT and a Member of the Wilts and Berks Trust. This year, CRT Friends were asked to lobby their respective MP's regarding the importance of canals to the nation and that the government should do more. This followed the government announcement of the funding cut to CRT (£300m over the next 13 years). You may have seen the CRT CEO on the news a couple of months ago speaking at the boater protest at Gloucester Docks making the case for the government to reverse the decision. The CRT are an easy target, but the truth is we are all in it together. Regarding your comment about volunteers; the real issue is proper and professional oversight of the contracts that enable maintenance and repair. I have seen evidence that indicates these contracts are not being delivered properly. Specifically, tools for the paid engineers to do the major works as well as other equipment used for more general maintenance performed by volunteers and paid lock keepers. Regarding the big paychecks; I have not seen the CEO working up close to know if he is worth the money. Inc benefits he is on about £220k per annum. The CRT revenue this year I believe is about £214m. I also believe about £189m will be spent on maintenance of the canal network, its ecology and the 2708 grade 1/2 listed structure the CRT owns. That is the 3rd largest holding of such structures in the UK. In a large organisation such as the CRT I have no doubt there are efficiencies to be made. My focus as a supporter of canals is now. The CRT is a very young charity. It was enacted in 2012 and was the largest single transfer of assets in British history. It's membership (Friends) is less than 35,000. Compare that to the RSPB (3m) and the NT (5.5m from memory) and you see the issue regarding lobbying power. We all need to be acting together. I emailed a query to my local MP (Michelle D) and Danny K regarding support for the Canal network and didn't even get a reply. I don't think Labour will be much better. Every canal charity, every canal enthusiast, every history organisation and every ecologist need to get together if we are to sway the government. All of us. Division and apathy are our biggest enemies.
Nice to see the project kicking along. Perhaps there might be a chance to get some financing from the Defence Department - if the bridges were all designed to be too narrow for T-90s in preparation for the future antics of the "Caesar for Life" boys? 😱🙄 Sardonic humour aside, the amount of cleaning and maintenance required just as a result of the seasonal trash and farming inflows must give the bean-counters in charge of these ventures the horrors. Lovely to see the results but glad someone else is paying for it. 🤔
It’s a perfect route from lacock to calne and would definitely be well used. The whole canal could also be a great commuter route for cyclists all the way to swindon
I am mystified how these canals, which are equally drains for agricultural lands, were let fall into disrepair. How did the clogged waterways not negatively affect the drainage for the surroundings areas?
Mostly they had parts destroyed to drain away, they’d blow the banks out, remove culverts, destroy/open spillweirs, these would all flow into other watercourses and drain away. Obviously some sections were filled and reused as farm land but if you look closely at old lines that are still fields you can often make out the lines of the canal in the crops, because of the clay bed it holds water and you get a much greener, lusher and taller crop in the old beds
It’s an interesting point though as part of the newer payments to farmers is based on land drainage and various ecology targets, the canals tick all the boxes so the hope is it’s a way to get the farmers on board
If you look at the map reference I make below this is the field at the top of the lock, on satellite you can see the canal as it curves across the field from pewsham locks across to the tree line and then across the the obvious 2 lines of trees that run off to the A4
I cannot believe in 2023 with Zero net being important, Is Prime's on your door tomorrow worth it, When we have a Zero Net built for us, Just needs a bit of TLC and the Middle Finger to Billionair Land owners,
The councils should be getting on it for habitat creation and tree planting targets, there’s so much land on these routes available and every box is ticked
I am in awe of the scale of this restoration effort. Kudos to all that are involved.
It’s the biggest canal restoration in the country.
They have been very busy with this restoration, I had no idea so much progress had been made. Thanks very much for the update 👍
No worries, thanks for watching
Very interesting to see those close-up 'interior' shots of the fabric of the chamber walls, whilst being restored. I think I've said before, this is a lovely project to keep an eye on... Great efforts by all involved. Thanks for the update/revisit as ever Steve.!
This is one of the good ones as they all know me, I can’t get good shots if I go down on a work party. I’m going to try to film the carpenters workshop going in, I’m unsure when it is yet though
Interesting to see the area / landscape before it is worked on by the Canal Trust. Amazing that some of the infrastructure is still working as designed and waiting for the canal to be back in water.
I’ll try and get old pictures when I do my next update, there’s some on the WBCT groups on Facebook. There wasn’t much left and most of what was left was buried. It’s picked up in speed over recent years as funding has increased and with more members and volunteers etc
Lovely, scenic stretch of W & B, undergoing some very impressive restoration work after years of decay and neglect. That spill weir really is a beautiful piece of canal engineering. Thanks for a very interesting update.
It’s a mammoth task but slowly it’s getting there!
Thank you for the walk through tour today, Steve. Always interesting to see. Enjoy the week ahead, and see you on the next! Cheers Steve! 🇬🇧🙂👍🇺🇸
And you, have a great one!
Really good work 👍 brilliant wording, well done 👍✅
Thank you
This section of canal is beautiful.😊
It really is, it’s the canal that made me fall in love with canals, I can’t wait to see boats on it
Another interesting video Steve, please dont rush them and linger over the maps and diagrams!
The details are interesting but take time to examine so give us time to hit pause.
Ok, I’ll keep that in mind for future videos, thanks for the feedback.
With the government withdrawing some £300m of funding over the next 13 years, the Canal and River Trust (CRT) needs Friends (members) to sustain our canal network. Local Canal Charities and the National CRT need support more now than at any other time in the last 60 years of canal restoration. Investing in canals is investing in the nations economy, ecology and wellbeing.
Stunning work by the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust. Best of luck, and it will be a major achievement if this canal can join the K&A one day, once again.
The government needs to change, we need to push our local MPs to make this part of the agenda going into an election. I don’t think the CRT have the will to do so, far too many pay checks and wasted money whilst the hard working volunteers get left with nothing on the ground to maintain the canals they love so much.
@CourtAboveTheCut I'm a Friend of the CRT and a Member of the Wilts and Berks Trust. This year, CRT Friends were asked to lobby their respective MP's regarding the importance of canals to the nation and that the government should do more. This followed the government announcement of the funding cut to CRT (£300m over the next 13 years). You may have seen the CRT CEO on the news a couple of months ago speaking at the boater protest at Gloucester Docks making the case for the government to reverse the decision.
The CRT are an easy target, but the truth is we are all in it together. Regarding your comment about volunteers; the real issue is proper and professional oversight of the contracts that enable maintenance and repair. I have seen evidence that indicates these contracts are not being delivered properly. Specifically, tools for the paid engineers to do the major works as well as other equipment used for more general maintenance performed by volunteers and paid lock keepers.
Regarding the big paychecks; I have not seen the CEO working up close to know if he is worth the money. Inc benefits he is on about £220k per annum. The CRT revenue this year I believe is about £214m. I also believe about £189m will be spent on maintenance of the canal network, its ecology and the 2708 grade 1/2 listed structure the CRT owns. That is the 3rd largest holding of such structures in the UK. In a large organisation such as the CRT I have no doubt there are efficiencies to be made.
My focus as a supporter of canals is now. The CRT is a very young charity. It was enacted in 2012 and was the largest single transfer of assets in British history. It's membership (Friends) is less than 35,000. Compare that to the RSPB (3m) and the NT (5.5m from memory) and you see the issue regarding lobbying power.
We all need to be acting together. I emailed a query to my local MP (Michelle D) and Danny K regarding support for the Canal network and didn't even get a reply. I don't think Labour will be much better. Every canal charity, every canal enthusiast, every history organisation and every ecologist need to get together if we are to sway the government. All of us. Division and apathy are our biggest enemies.
Nice to see the project kicking along. Perhaps there might be a chance to get some financing from the Defence Department - if the bridges were all designed to be too narrow for T-90s in preparation for the future antics of the "Caesar for Life" boys? 😱🙄
Sardonic humour aside, the amount of cleaning and maintenance required just as a result of the seasonal trash and farming inflows must give the bean-counters in charge of these ventures the horrors. Lovely to see the results but glad someone else is paying for it. 🤔
The kennet and Avon still has the tank stuff on the bridges from WW2 😂 saves some money that
Hopefully the sustrans routes get re-established the alternative routes south of Chippenham are not viable for families or children.
It’s a perfect route from lacock to calne and would definitely be well used. The whole canal could also be a great commuter route for cyclists all the way to swindon
I am mystified how these canals, which are equally drains for agricultural lands, were let fall into disrepair. How did the clogged waterways not negatively affect the drainage for the surroundings areas?
Mostly they had parts destroyed to drain away, they’d blow the banks out, remove culverts, destroy/open spillweirs, these would all flow into other watercourses and drain away. Obviously some sections were filled and reused as farm land but if you look closely at old lines that are still fields you can often make out the lines of the canal in the crops, because of the clay bed it holds water and you get a much greener, lusher and taller crop in the old beds
It’s an interesting point though as part of the newer payments to farmers is based on land drainage and various ecology targets, the canals tick all the boxes so the hope is it’s a way to get the farmers on board
If you look at the map reference I make below this is the field at the top of the lock, on satellite you can see the canal as it curves across the field from pewsham locks across to the tree line and then across the the obvious 2 lines of trees that run off to the A4
51.440084, -2.089417
I cannot believe in 2023 with Zero net being important, Is Prime's on your door tomorrow worth it, When we have a Zero Net built for us, Just needs a bit of TLC and the Middle Finger to Billionair Land owners,
The councils should be getting on it for habitat creation and tree planting targets, there’s so much land on these routes available and every box is ticked